I'm doing my first 2 tris very shortly and I'm an ultra competitive Upper MOP obstacle racer and marathoner although I'm new to bike and swim so I could struggle a bit? My swim has improved in the pool quite nice so I kind of wanna mix it up with the pack!! I have no OWS exp and one is an Atlantic city swim but in the bay and not the ocean? How bad is a bay chop wise?Other is in a lake! Is it wise to wann get kicked or punched so I can really feel like a triathlete... Oh I bought a sleeveless wetsuit but not sure if I will need for lake or not? Any suggestions on knowing if I should wear it? Never wore one before either!! Thanks for replys

I wouldn't suggest starting toward the front and mixing it up during your first couple races. No matter how good you feel or how confident you feel, that first OWS REALLY messes with your head. If you start in front of me and clearly you should not have. . at a minimum, I'll shove you off to the side. I've never swam fully over someone, but I've come close. The first 100m is a fight for position, its not a place to be if your new to the sport. And I'm not even one of the fish.

Limited swim experience and no OWS experience but yet you want to get in there and mix it up so you can get hit and punched? If I'm being candid, this isn't very smart. Perhaps you should stick to obstacle racing.

Originally posted by rodzilla Like any bloody noses or B&B arms or legs? I'm doing my first 2 tris very shortly and I'm an ultra competitive Upper MOP obstacle racer and marathoner although I'm new to bike and swim so I could struggle a bit? My swim has improved in the pool quite nice so I kind of wanna mix it up with the pack!! I have no OWS exp and one is an Atlantic city swim but in the bay and not the ocean? How bad is a bay chop wise?Other is in a lake! Is it wise to wann get kicked or punched so I can really feel like a triathlete... Oh I bought a sleeveless wets"mix it upuit but not sure if I will need for lake or not? Any suggestions on knowing if I should wear it? Never wore one before either!! Thanks for replys

I wouldn't suggest starting toward the front and mixing it up during your first couple races. No matter how good you feel or how confident you feel, that first OWS REALLY messes with your head. If you start in front of me and clearly you should not have. . at a minimum, I'll shove you off to the side. I've never swam fully over someone, but I've come close. The first 100m is a fight for position, its not a place to be if your new to the sport. And I'm not even one of the fish.

^This. There is no "mixing it up".......you get where you don't belong during a swim and you won't be mixing it up with anybody....you'll just be getting run over. Nobody is stopping to "mix it up".....you'll just be flailing at something that pushed you under, swam over you, and is already gone.

In case anyone hasn't read the OP's follow up, he really meant "be in the mix."

So...

A few weeks ago a friend of mine was kicked in the chest during a tri swim. First time in probably 30+ tries and she simply couldn't catch her breath to keep going. I have had my goggles knocked off and know of others hit in the face, unintentionally of course. The first thing to do is get out of the way. Then, try to keep calm while you fix your issue. I think my friend panicked and she should have moved aside and maybe back floated a bit to rest. It's really hard to remember that in the water.

Originally posted by rodzilla Like any bloody noses or B&B arms or legs? I'm doing my first 2 tris very shortly and I'm an ultra competitive Upper MOP obstacle racer and marathoner although I'm new to bike and swim so I could struggle a bit? My swim has improved in the pool quite nice so I kind of wanna mix it up with the pack!! I have no OWS exp and one is an Atlantic city swim but in the bay and not the ocean? How bad is a bay chop wise?Other is in a lake! Is it wise to wann get kicked or punched so I can really feel like a triathlete... Oh I bought a sleeveless wets"mix it upuit but not sure if I will need for lake or not? Any suggestions on knowing if I should wear it? Never wore one before either!! Thanks for replys

I wouldn't suggest starting toward the front and mixing it up during your first couple races. No matter how good you feel or how confident you feel, that first OWS REALLY messes with your head. If you start in front of me and clearly you should not have. . at a minimum, I'll shove you off to the side. I've never swam fully over someone, but I've come close. The first 100m is a fight for position, its not a place to be if your new to the sport. And I'm not even one of the fish.

^This. There is no "mixing it up".......you get where you don't belong during a swim and you won't be mixing it up with anybody....you'll just be getting run over. Nobody is stopping to "mix it up".....you'll just be flailing at something that pushed you under, swam over you, and is already gone.

Ha I got run over by like 20 people in my first triathlon swim! I also almost hit a pier since I swam so far off course...

I have been kicked in the head by a swimmer moving diagonally to me... or maybe we were diagonal to each other. I did not see it due to being rolled on my side facing away.

I also swam over or more likely dunked a breast stroker. After coming around a turn buoy there were two of them side by side as I pulled I felt contact and watched the green swim cap pass under my shoulder. I feel bad and would have said sorry but as stated above it happens so fast.

I am the same way. I am courteous and cautious, but I don't change my path in fear. It doesn't bother me to have contact on my big ol' torso, but I try to protect my money-maker (mouth/face) at all times.

At IMCDA, which is was a mass start off a small beach, it is FAMOUS for contact. I got punched in the jaw about 200 yards in so hard that I saw stars and was sure that I had chipped a tooth. But my choppers are still intact.

The worst injury in the swim has been to my ego when I get out of the water and see the clock!

My worst swim injuries have been from other women, some of them quite petite. Remember, men may be bulky and strong, but plenty of women have claws! In my first Oly, I was scratched repeatedly by a lady who seemed to be doing her utmost to draft by swimming alongside me. (When I tried to pull ahead, she caught up. When I tried to drop back and let her lead, she slowed down.) Exited the water bleeding from several gashes and bled for part of the bike leg. At a sprint last year, I was scratched again (not same country so presumably not same person) and actually got a tear in my wetsuit. The race was in a lake so not possible it was from rocks, coral, etc. I've been swum over multiple times, sometimes by guys who must outweigh me by 100 pounds, with no ill effects. I won't swim over others on purpose, but it has happened in water with very poor visibility. In both cases I was swimming over guys at the back of the wave before mine. About as purposefully physical as I get would be kicking harder if someone is slapping at my feet. One useful strategy is to give those doing breaststroke a wide berth when passing--that kick is particularly powerful and can inflict a lot of damage!